Only In Dreams
by onlyniean
Summary: After Renee dies in child birth, Charlie's sanity is tenuous. His twisted mind is determined to make Isabella pay for the pain she's caused him. Isabella is resigned to her fate until a bronze haired boy comes crashing into her life.   AU, Triggers
1. The Dream

**A/N: The Twilight Universe and all its glorious characters belong to Stephanie Meyer. And I cannot thank her enough for Edward Cullen.**

I was having the dream again.

I was running, my life depended on escape. I willed my legs to go faster then they could.

But I knew they wouldn't.

The dream was always the same.

I was being chased, but I couldn't see my stalker through the tall trees of my home. I fell over every small rock and stray branch in the woods loosing any ground I could have hoped to gain. The moss was slippery under my hands and my feet could find no purchase. The silhouetted man following was walking at a leisurely pace but was somehow able to gain a shocking amount of ground. Within minutes I knew he would be on me.

His maniacal laughter rang through the air, assaulting my ears. "Isabella…." His voice was rough like sandpaper, but teasing, like it always was. I put my hands over my ears and hid behind a dead tree that had fallen on the ground. I could sympathize.

"Isabella, don't hide, you know I love to see you." He made it sound like a pout, as though he actually meant it. I knew he didn't.

I cowered further into the tree wishing that I could run but it was futile. Fear penetrated every single one of my senses, freezing me in place as I watched his hand creep around the top of the tree. His strong fingers curled in my hair and yanked me up from my spot. A cry of pain escaped my throat but was quickly and painfully silenced by his other hand. "Isabella," he said in a warning tone, "you know I don't like it when you make too much noise. You always were such a terribly noisy child." I knew that I was not a noisy child as I did everything in my power to avoid his anger, but I could not think past the pain, and I could _never_ stand up to him.

But I was having the dream again, and I knew how it would end.

His hand drifted to his sidearm at his belt. Slowly his hand curled around the butt of the gun and his knuckles became white from the pressure of his grip. Drawing it out he pointed it right at my heart, point blank.

"Do you want to know what it felt like, Isabella? Do you? It was agony. Your mother left this earth because of you, because you had to be on it. Do you think that you can just get away with that? With causing me that type of pain? You were wrong if you thought that. I'll show you how I felt."

I knew I deserved this, I had as bad as killed her with my own hands. I waited silently for Charlie to pull the trigger on my life. The shot rang out loud in my ears, and I was jolted from his hand with the force. I felt my self falling. Falling forever in an endless dark abyss of nothing. The pain in my chest grew to a crescendo and I could no longer hold my silence. Screams tore through my throat, my arms were grasping for anything to pull my self back up. I knew I deserved this, but I didn't want to die, I selfishly wanted life, life that my mother was denied because of me. I didn't want the life that I had, but I wished there could be something out there for me, for Isabella Swan. Panic and despair rose from the pit of my stomach as I realized I was fooling myself.

I was alone and forever falling.


	2. The Plan

**A/N: The Twilight Universe and all its glorious characters belong to Stephanie Meyer. And I cannot thank her enough for Edward Cullen.**

I shot up from my bed drenched in sweat still screaming. The bile rising from my stomach would not be pushed down and I quickly leaned over and emptied my stomach into the trash can. Flopping down onto the bed, I gasped for air and waited.

Charlie came barging in the room with a look of pure hate. He stomped to my bedside and curled his fist in my shirt to bring my face close to him. I could feel his warm breath on my face.

"Isabella, you know I have to get up early. What is your problem?" he growled in my face. Spittle sprayed from his lips.

I racked my brain for something that would appease him but nothing came. "I'm sorry father, I had a nightmare. I promise I'll be quiet now." '_Yeah, nice save', _I thought. I was such an idiot.

At first he just stared blankly at my statement. Then his lips slowly peeled back from his teeth and his menacing smile sent shivers down my spine. He pulled me closer to his face. "You know you deserve a punishment." I nodded my acceptance. He loosened his grip on my shirt and I fell back to the bed.

I closed my eyes and braced myself as he swung the back of his hand across my face. I gasped from the shock of the pain and realized he had used his brass knuckles. He believed that visual reminders would help me remember my punishments.

Rising from my bed he began cleaning his brass knuckles on my thin sheets, and then nodded to me. "Make sure you see Dr. Brunner tomorrow, you will need stitches on that." He could have been talking about the weather. As he walked out of the room he closed the door and made sure to lock it from the outside with his master key. He would unlock it before he left for work in a few hours. Not that I had friends to sneak out with.

Still shaking from my nightmare, I rolled over on my side and searched for something to slow the bleeding. All I could find was an old sock that stung as I placed it on my wound. The alarm clock at my bedside was blaring an angry 6:00 a.m. Fortunately, Charlie would be gone for work by 8 a.m. I could just barely see the light from the sun beginning to push back the darkness of night. The news said it was supposed to be cloudy today. I might have taken it as foreshadowing for how my day would go, but it's Forks and cloudy days reign on high.

I started working on my story for Dr. Brunner. I may not even really need it at this point in my life. Everyone in Forks knew that Isablunder Stumbles had a frequent flyers card at the local hospital. Dr. Brunner usually didn't even ask what happened anymore, that or he was so old that he approved of a good old fashioned whipping. It didn't matter. My one saving grace was that the good ol'doc was so old he really shouldn't even be practicing anymore. He wouldn't notice the warning signs of abuse.

'_Not that anyone else did either,'_ I thought. I almost laughed at myself, it was all so ridiculous.

I hadn't realized I had fallen back asleep until I heard Charlie unlock my door. My body automatically reacted to his close proximity and tensed up as he tapped gently on the door.

"Don't forget to go see Dr. Brunner. Have dinner ready when I get home and make sure my sheets get cleaned." His footsteps on the stairs were his only goodbye.

'_Goodbye to you too father' _I thought wryly.

I supposed I should also be glad that it was still summer break. Had this been a school day, it would have been much more difficult to make it through the day unnoticed. I would have needed excuses for coming in late, and why I was at the hospital and so on. I don't have any friends that would make for a concerned party, but the school district would make me repeat a grade if I missed too much school.

My body creaked as I sat up in bed, eliciting a moan of pain. My legs and arms ached from my daily tedium of work and chores and not-quite-enough sleep schedule due to my _nocturnal_ activities. I had tried every wives tale and medical theory related to dreaming to get my nightmares to stop. Only on days when I worked myself to absolute exhaustion would I wake and not remember a blessed thing.

I threw on some old jeans, sneakers, and a t-shirt from my modest wardrobe. I stopped at my beat up desk and grabbed my hoodie. It was old and ratty and needed to be washed, but I wouldn't go anywhere without it. It belonged to Renee, and it was my most prized possession. At the thought of my mother, my eyes started their familiar tingle.

'_Why did you have to leave me?'_ I asked. I swallowed hard and pushed back the tears. I knew why she left. It was because of me. She died and I killed her. I was a monster. Sighing, I slowly shuffled my way to the bathroom.

Before entering I snaked my hand around the door jam and opened the medicine cabinet with my thumb. I pushed it open so that the only mirror in the house would face the wall. I would get to that in a bit. I tried to go through my morning routine as slow as possible. I even _flossed_. But I knew that the mirror was inevitable. I reached for the corner of the frame and closed my eyes. With my index finger I slowly closed the medicine cabinet.

'_Just look Bella, you've seen it all before and then some.' _Sometimes my mind just would not shut up.

I finally opened my eyes and found that I was correct. It was nothing compared to some previous encounters with Charlie. The wound was about 3 inches long and though it was dirty from my inattention and the sock, the blood had stopped for the most part. Unfortunately, the pain had not.

I found myself musing, '_Maybe he's getting soft in his old age.' _I laughed. '_Fat chance._'

After popping a few aspirin with a glass of water, I walked to the back yard to create my façade. Upon reaching the tree line I crouched down. I rubbed the palms of my hands furiously on the face of the closest rock to imitate scratch marks from bracing a fall and then grabbed a handful of dirt and wiped it on my face.

I could already hear myself. '_Oh you know me Dr. Brunner! I was just out for a walk and I tripped and fell face first. At least it's not as bad as the last time!"_ Yes, last time I had a broken arm, this was much better.

I came around the front of the house and hoped in my truck. I can honestly say that this is the best gift that Charlie had ever given me, and I was truly happy to have received it. It always brought a smile to my face to see my rusted Chevy sitting and waiting loyally for me. It was my only real friend. I knew the only reason that he even purchased it for me was so that he didn't have to be bothered with driving me around town to get the shopping done or to take me to school. It didn't matter, I loved it.

After rumbling along the road I finally made it to the hospital. I had tried to work myself up so that my tears and pain looked believable and recent, but I had become so numb over the years that it didn't really faze me anymore and so I gave up. Before walking in through the double doors, I poked a finger in each eye to at least get them somewhat watery.

'_Isabella Holmes, master of disguise,'_ I thought with no humor.

Upon approaching the desk the nurse looked up and gasped. "Oh Isabella! You poor thing! What happened? Did you fall again?"

I had this small talk so memorized it came easily to me. "Yes Ms. Lee, I just need Dr. Brunner to patch me up and I'll be on my way." I attempted a smile, but she was already looking back at her books.

She giggled a bit before she responded, "Oh Isabella, aren't you in for a surprise!"

I didn't really understand what she meant by this, but it had me a bit worried. I brought my hand around to hold my stomach that was in the middle of doing aerobatic flips. _'I guess it's a good thing I hadn't eaten breakfast,'_ I thought. "What surprise?" I said when I was finally able to respond.

Ms. Lee gave _another_ giggle and said "You'll see dear! Just go on over to room 112 and we will get you all fixed up." She was positively beaming. There must be a laughing gas outbreak in the hospital.

Because I was so amazingly familiar with the layout of the hospital, I was able to find my way to room 112 with ease. I sat down on the usual cushioned exam table and the paper crinkled underneath my weight. I sat there biting at my finger nails wondering what the nurse could have meant by her comment. _'Surprises are good right? Normal people like surprises. Yeah, but you are not a normal person.'_ No, I was not, and it was evident by my internal dialogue. My stomach had calmed some, but the worry was still making me nauseous.

"You must be Isabella Swan," came a pleasant honeyed voice from the hall.

As I looked up, nails forgotten, I was so dumbfounded that my mouth fell open with a quiet 'pop'. There in the doorway stood the most impossibly beautiful man I had ever seen in my existence.


	3. The Girl

**A/N: The Twilight Universe and all its glorious characters belong to Stephanie Meyer. And I cannot thank her enough for Edward Cullen.**

**Sorry this chapter took me so long, finals kicked my ass. I promise to be better.**

"_You must be Isabella Swan," came a pleasant honeyed voice from the hall._

_As I looked up, nails forgotten, I was so dumbfounded that my mouth fell open with a quiet 'pop'. There in the doorway stood the most impossibly beautiful man I had ever seen in my existence._

Carlise POV

She had the normal first reaction. All the women at the hospital had the same reaction and some of the men too. I suppressed a sigh. It would be a chore to make sure all the nurses new that I was strictly unavailable, and not just because of Esme.

As I walked in the room I studied Isabella's face. At a casual glance she looked like a normal 16 year old girl with long brown hair and beautiful brown eyes. However, as a doctor and a vampire, my glances were anything but casual and I immediately knew something was wrong. Her skin was pale, but instead of having a healthy glow, it was slightly sallow. There were huge dark circles under her eyes and they looked weary. It became evident that she was severely underweight and malnourished. Either she was very sick or someone was neglecting her.

I immediately ruled out any sort of drug addiction. She had no record of anything out of the ordinary on her chart prescribed to her, although with what the nurse had said about her 'accident history,' I was sure she had taken a fair share of pain pills in her time. I couldn't smell anything in her blood stream either, but Fork's was probably the safest town in the US when it came to drugs so it really was a non issue. But there was still something wrong.

She hadn't yet responded to me but after her initial surprise she began glaring at me with a mixture of bewilderment and anger or panic, I wasn't sure. I could hear her heart beat racing much faster then a normal human. Even as a vampire, I didn't usually trigger the instinctual senses of humans that made them scared or want to run. I'd been playing as human for longer then any of my family and people were usually quickly at ease with me, but not Isabella. Her eye brows were knit together as she stared at me, her mouth still slightly open and she leaned as far away from me as she possibly could as though she knew I were venomous. I tried again.

"You are Isabella Swan, correct? Chief Swan's daughter?"

She flinched slightly as though I broke a chain of thought. "What?" She barked. She was still scared but I couldn't understand why. When she spoke again it was timid, almost a whisper. "Wh-Where's Dr. Brunner?" Her eyes were looking all over the room and she would not let them rest on me. Panic, I decided. She was panicked but I still wasn't sure why. It was as though she were looking for a quick exit.

I thought I would try to make her at ease with light conversation, it would make helping her much easier, and I made my voice as soothing for her. "I'm Dr. Carlisle Cullen," I said. "I'm the new doctor here in Forks. Dr. Brunner was going into retirement anyway so I thought I'd let him have a few days off until then. Don't worry, Isabella, I will be certain to take good care of you while you are here."

Something in what I had said must have sated her. She looked in my eyes after I spoke, and nodded slightly. She became relaxed, or resigned, to the fact that I was her doctor. As I pulled up a stool to sit in front of her, I was careful of her personal space. She was obviously still uncomfortable with me, and combined that with her neglected appearance, I wanted her to be as comfortable as possible.

Again I spoke gently to her, "The nurse tells me that you are a regular at the hospital and that you are here today because of another fall?"

She nodded again, still looking me in the eyes. I thought this was odd. Even normal humans are not able to look even animal feeding vampires in the eye, and Isabella seemed particularly afraid. She spoke again and her voice sounded dead.

"That's correct. I was just in the woods behind my house and slipped on some moss and my face hit a particularly sharp rock," she said in a monotone voice. As she said this, I didn't miss the fact that she glanced to the right, indicating that she was lying. This was added to my suspicions of abuse.

"Alright then, let's take a look then."

As I leaned in to examine her, I noticed several things that were out of the ordinary. First was the smell. The blood from her wound was still flowing a bit, yet it was mostly coagulated, and it smelled old. The edges were already forming small scabs giving more evidence that it was not recently cut. Second was the fact that there was absolutely no dirt, moss, or rock fragments in the wound, not even to my enhanced eye, though I could see where she had rubbed dirt around the wound. What struck me as odd though was that it was a clean cut, not possibly from a rock, and smelled slightly of brass and cotton perhaps. Some sort of fabric was previously put on her gash, and I was able to locate very tiny particles of fabric clinging to her wound. It was hours old, if not more. I leaned back and sighed as I looked at her, hiding my doubt.

"Well, you will certainly need stitches Isabella. Just wait here while I go ask the nurse to get the equipment." I walked to the door and spoke to the nurse on duty that promptly gave me a winning smile and dashed to fill my request. I suppressed the urge to roll my eyes; sometimes this attention was good for something, even if it was something as trivial as speedy service. Walking back into the room, I saw that Isabella had lay down on the exam table and closed her eyes in preparation of her stitches. It seemed that she had indeed been here many times before and knew the protocol, or maybe she really was just tired. I could certainly think that being so malnourished, she certainly would be running on low energy. I again pulled my stool up and sat next to her while pulling up her medical history on the computer. Her eyes opened briefly to watch my movement and then fluttered closed again. She seemed so tired. I glanced at her chart, and was astounded with what it held. Not even a grown adult could have had as many accidental injuries as she had. It spanned everything from a broken bone to days of unconsciousness from blunt trauma and back again. It made me think of Esme and the horrors that she endured from her first husband, Charles. That was when I knew. Isabella was not sick in any normal sense of the term. She was neglected, abused, and, if these theories were correct, very possibly alone. Looking at the frail form of the poor girl beside me, I made a decision that I normally would not have otherwise considered.

"Isabella, since we will be giving you stitches, I'm sure you are aware that there will be painkillers involved." She nodded her head in acknowledgement as I continued. "I was wondering if you had anyone to drive you home after the procedure since you will be unfit to drive." Her eyes popped open and fear briefly crossed her features before it was quickly stifled and she looked right at me in an unnaturally calm fashion. If I didn't know better I would have thought Jasper had used his empathy abilities on her.

"I can just walk home from the hospital, I've done it before." She was being evasive, but I wanted to help her, and so I took advantage of the small town stereotypes and threw HIPPA laws out the window.

"Nonsense, I'll just call my wife Esme and have her drive you home. I know she has to go out to the store anyway, and she would be delighted to meet the sheriffs' daughter. I'm sure your father won't mind if we see you home safely." I said with a voice and smile as comforting as I could manage.

This girl was like a timid mouse. The fear crossed her features again, but this time it was closer to terror. What was she afraid of? Was it interaction with Esme, a new person she didn't know? I didn't think it was a phobia of driving since she drove here. Was it possible she was scared of her father? I had a hard time believing that the sheriff would actually abuse his child, but watching Isabella's terror filled eyes that quickly turned resigned as she lay back on the table, I thought that might be it. It was upsetting to think that a man of the law could hurt such an innocent child.

She sighed before continuing, "Sure, I'm sure my father would be fine with that, Dr. Cullen."

Before I could respond, the nurse returned with the equipment requested and I promised myself that I would help her. Not just today. I wanted to get her away from whoever was hurting her before it was too late.

I carefully began to put Isabella Swan back together again.


	4. The Wife

**A/N: The Twilight Universe and all its glorious characters belong to Stephanie Meyer. And I cannot thank her enough for Edward Cullen.**

**Also, I changed the title of the story to 'Only in Dreams' because the other one was too long and really this story was inspired in me by Weezer. So Yeah.**

Carlisle POV

After Isabella's stitches, I left her in the lull of drug induced sleep to call Esme. Even though we didn't eat, it was important for our human charade to be seen shopping for food and conversing with other humans. It would be perfect to have Esme seen out at the local grocer with Isabella.

Flipping open the small silver phone, I put it to my ear at I hit the speed dial. She picked it up in the middle of the first ring, of course.

"Hello my love! How is your first day of work? Missing me already?" she said with a smile in her voice. Oh, how I loved this woman.

I couldn't help the happiness that was in my reply.

"You know I missed you the second I stepped out the door. And the first day is good, but speaking of that I have a favor to ask for one of my patients." My tone grew somber as I thought of Isabella.

"Oh Carlisle, you know I'd do anything you ask, you know that. What happened?"

I quickly explained Isabella's predicament, my theories and my promise to help her. I had no doubt that Esme would feel compassion for the small girl and would have no problem coming to help.

"I'll be at the hospital shortly, my heart." With that we ended the call and I walked back to her room deep in thought.

I knew that I wanted to help Isabella, but I didn't know how to go about it without putting my family at risk. I couldn't really have too much interaction with her because of the nature of us, but I couldn't in good conscience just leave her to her own devices. She looked so….defeated, resigned to the life that she was given. I sympathized with her.

I had first hand experience in fighting fate. After my transformation, I knew who I wanted to be regardless of what I was. I made a choice to help people, and so I would help Isabella. She didn't have to live without hope, without love. She was the same age that Edward and Alice would pretend to be once registered at the local high school and I could use this to my advantage. Alice in particular would be thrilled to help, even if Edward might only take a passing interest. He had been particularly reclusive in the last few decades since Alice and Jasper joined us, and Esme had been increasingly worried that he had been changed too young.

Alice could become friends with the girl and the constant close contact would hopefully protect her as much as possible from her abuser. Statistically it was someone close to the victim, a boyfriend, a relative. In a small town like this, it was even more doubtful that she was randomly attacked. I'd have to talk to Alice tonight about watching for visions from her and also to see if Edward could pick anything out in her thoughts that would be helpful.

I stood watching her sleep from the doorway. It was the most peaceful she had looked since I'd met her. Her chart stated that her mother had passed away in child birth and I felt it was unfair that such an innocent child not only had to suffer the loss of a parent but also the pain of physical abuse. As I watched, her eyes began to open and she looked around confused. I walked next to her bed and sat down.

"Esme will be here shortly to take you home, but if you don't mind, I was wondering if you could show her to the grocery store? We have only been in town for a few days and the food we had with us is almost gone." I smiled and hoped she would say yes. Esme really would enjoy her company.

Her eyebrows knit together and she frowned causing her stitches to stretch a bit. She lightly touched her face before continuing.

"Sure I guess. I have to pick up a few things for dinner anyway, she wouldn't mind if I went in with her? I won't be too long."

At that moment, I heard Esme's voice down the hall asking after my whereabouts. She could have easily followed my scent except not only was more human to ask for directions, but Esme was cautious about breathing too much in the hospitals where I worked. She was so caring.

"Esme would love to have your company, Isabella, and take as much time as you need."

My beautiful wife turned into the room and just like every day of our life, my heart soared thinking that she would always be mine. She made a playful knocking noise on the door jamb that caught Isabella's attention. Esme walked toward her and patted her hand gently.

"Hello my dear! I'm Esme. Are you feeling better after your stitches? Maybe we could run by the local ice creamery and get you something to lift your spirits, what do you think?" Esme's mothering touch seemed to put Isabella more at ease then I had, if only a little. Her mouth twitched as though she might smile, but then thought better of it.

"I am feeling better, but I'm allergic to dairy so I can't eat ice cream. Thank you for asking though," she said. She sighed a little and closed her eyes for a bit. I knew she was lying since dairy was not under her list of allergies on her chart, but I stayed silent. I didn't want to back her into a corner, I needed her trust. Esme gave me a knowing look and I reached out to hold her hand.

"I'm sure your just a bit tired from your spill this morning and the medications. Esme will have you home soon. Please come back to see me if you have more pain or feel at all dizzy, and make sure to fill this script to take as needed. I hope you feel better." I said as I gave her a prescription for a week of light pain killers. I normally wouldn't have given one but I didn't want her to suffer any more then she already had.

"Thank you very much Dr. Cullen. I'll try to be more careful in the future," she said as she hopped down from the table only to stumble a bit before I steadied her.

As Isabella and Esme began walking down the hall, I could still hear the compassion in my wife's voice as she made conversation with Isabella.

"So Isabella, I hear you are going to be a sophomore at Forks high this year. My children Edward and Alice are also going to be sophomores this year. Maybe we will see more of you?'

Isabella replied in her usual quiet voice, "Yeah, maybe."


	5. The Ride

**A/N: The Twilight Universe and all its glorious characters belong to Stephanie Meyer. And I cannot thank her enough for Edward Cullen.**

Esme was….interesting.

She was beautiful to be sure. I really hadn't thought that someone as handsome as Dr. Cullen would have a wife that was less attractive then he was. But there was something else about her that stirred something in me on a very primal level. Even through the perfect lines of her face, her feminine softness was evident. I knew she had kids, but that and her demeanor instantly made me think of my mother, or lack there of, and I wanted to run and hug her. She wouldn't want hugs from me, a random stranger that was now a burden on her day. Her smile was gentle as she looked at me, and I wasn't sure why.

She didn't really touch me aside from the pat on the hand when I was on the exam table as we walked out of the hospital. I couldn't really blame her, Charlie hated touching me. He said it made him feel dirty, and I could only assume that Esme would feel the same if she touched me. Repulsed. I sighed.

She showed me over to her car, a very nice, shiny, silver Volvo, and I felt bad sitting in it. It was so clean. My dirty clothes touching the nice leather seats and the sweat from my earlier panic was mixing with the musky leather scent. I tried to touch as little as possible. Charlie always said I was unclean.

Esme didn't say much as she started the car, and I was glad. I really wasn't one for small talk in the first place, but who was I kidding? I just wasn't really one for talking. Her silence was almost comforting, though maybe it was just her motherly aura. I almost felt safe. I didn't want to say anything since I was alone most of the time and anything I said would reveal my social awkwardness causing ridicule. I didn't want to hear it from someone so perfect. It wasn't until she drove away that she really spoke for the first time.

"There are some CD's in the glove compartment if you would like to listen to something. This is my son's car and I'm sure you might find something you will like."

I wasn't sure how to react to that. I was certain that her son was into the ever popular and mindless rap music that invaded the air space at school. It made my head hurt. Charlie never really let me listen to music really, and I didn't own any CD's or anything, but even if I did, it wouldn't be that. But I didn't want to seem rude so I opened the glove compartment and retrieved the small back case. I was surprised by what I found. It didn't have a bunch of rap music at all, but it was a very eclectic taste with many classical. The whole case only held about 20 or so CD's but about 8 of them were of classical musicians, some I recognized, but many I did not. Picking one at random, I put one in the player and the tinkling music instantly soothed me.

"Do you like Debussy?" she asked as she glanced at me.

"Oh…uhm…I don't know. I just…uh, picked a classical one." Yep, I knew that once I opened my mouth I would stumble all over my speech. Bring on the laughter.

After a small silence, I waited for her response. Instead she surprised me with another question, "What do you like to do in your free time, dear?"

And so we talked all the way to the store. Little by little, I grew comfortable with her. Not that I would run to her or anything when I was in need or cry on her shoulder, but by the time we arrived at the store, I was confident that she wasn't going to ridicule my responses or opinions. Maybe it was because we had so much in common. It turned out that Esme was an architect and she loved interior decorating and design. I wasn't an architect, but I did enjoy drawing sometimes, though I wasn't any good at it. We both liked to read and garden. My hobbies were more out of necessity then hers I was sure, but I did enjoy them. Reading and drawing were escapes from Charlie, and gardening was to keep me busy and the grocery bill down. I loved to see new life sprout from the ground even though it was a bit sad that I would eventually have to pick the vegetables or when they died in the winter. Yeah I was kind of crazy.

As we walked through the store, Esme got strange looks, and I could come to two reasons as to why that was. One obviously was because she was new in town; rumors would be flying all around about the new Cullen family. The second reason was probably because of me. I didn't go out much, and I defiantly wasn't ever seen with anyone by my father. People usually disregarded my presence altogether at school and mandatory social functions anyway. It wasn't until Dr. Cullen practically force fed me his kindness that I was actually out with someone new. I felt bad that Esme had to endure the leers that followed us because of me.

As we turned the corner for the cereal isle, I saw Mrs. Stanley at the other end walking toward us. Recognition crossed her face when she saw Esme and she tried to appear nonchalant and failed. I was beginning to panic like I had earlier. Her daughter, Jessica, was one of my most ruthless tormentors at school, second only to Lauren. Where most of the student body pretended I just didn't exist, these two made it their personal goal to make my life more hell then it already was. Like her daughter Jessica, Mrs. Stanley was once conventionally pretty, but time had not been good to her. Her too bleached hair was in an elaborate up-do, and her nails had a French manicure. Her makeup was thick on her face to cover her lines and sun spots (which really I was surprised she had sun spots considering how little sun Forks has) but her bad skin was more evident on her arms and legs. She wore a short skin tight pink dress with black knee length leggings. She was an eye sore.

She held out her hand as she approached us and I unsuccessfully tried to blend in with the Fruit Loops on the shelf.

"Why, you must be Dr. Cullen's wife! I'm Joyce Stanley; it's a pleasure to meet you. My daughter Jessica will be in the same grade as two of your children and I'm sure we will all become fast friends!"

She spoke quickly and my head pounding by the time she finished. Her voice was so loud and high, just as unpleasant as her attire. She continued to rattle on about herself and the town so I zoned her out to a tolerable level. I knew that Esme would stop being kind to me the moment that Mrs. Stanley told her about my story. It was tragic really, to hear it as an outsider, but it didn't stop people from treating me as something other, which I almost didn't mind. Almost. Mother died at birth. Single Father raised only child. Child has mental and emotional stability issues because of life circumstance is considered dangerous. Father does all he can. Child is social hermit. _Beware of Child, will go mental and kill everyone, _I thought_. _I nearly stopped breathing altogether when Mrs. Stanley acknowledged me.

"I hope Isabella here isn't being a trouble for you. She isn't very stable you know, it's dangerous to be around her for extended periods of time. She didn't quite develop without a proper mother figure. Do you want me to call her father to come get her?" she said as she flipped out a small pink phone with fake plastic diamonds on it.

I thought my heart would stop altogether. I silently prayed to anyone who would listen that the ceiling would open up and lightening would strike dead me. Or break the phone, or cut the power lines, or cause a bear to come barreling through the store. Anything to stop Mrs. Stanley from calling my father about a trip to the store with a stranger that I had already planned on hiding from him. Although now that town gossip Mrs. Stanley saw me with her, I knew my father would probably find out soon. Instead, beautiful, wonderful, perfect Esme finally got a word in edge wise.

"Oh of course not! I was just giving Isabella a ride to the store before dropping her off at home. She's not a bother at all. If you'll excuse us we need to be going." Esme put her arm around my shoulders and ushered me down the isle while pushing the cart. Her arm was cold on my shoulders and I could sympathize. We had spent a lot of time near the cooler sections of fresh produce, meat and dairy. I knew I was freezing. Once out of hearing range, Esme stopped and looked at me with a grimace, her hands on my shoulders.

"What a horrible lady. I can't believe she said that about you." She pushed some hair behind my ears that I had let fall in front of my face as a protective measure and gave me a winning smile. "Don't listen to people like that, they never have anything good to say about others." I nodded at her and we continued our shopping as I was again lost in thought.

Esme stood up for me. I was shocked. I knew that we had sort of bonded in the car but after Mrs. Stanley told her I was dangerous, I thought for sure she would shy away from me. Charlie always said no one would love me because of what I did, what I was. A murderer. I needed to get away from Esme before she found out.

There wasn't much conversation after that. At this very moment, Esme was probably planning on home schooling her children so that they wouldn't have to get near me. But then, why would she save me from confrontation with my father, and why would she want to confort me after what was said? It just didn't make sense.

As we loaded everything in the car, I gave her directions to my house. Before I could just out of the car, Esme addressed me.

"Isabella, would you mind if I asked a favor of you?" I froze. I didn't have a clue what she could possibly want that I could give her. I had nothing, and I was nothing.

"Uh…I'll….see if I can, maybe? What do you uh, need?" I wish I could just tell people I was mute, I didn't think I would sound so stupid with sign language.

"Well, I know what Mrs. Stanley said about your home life, but I wanted you to know that if you need someone to talk to, or come to, I'd like to be here for you. Carilise seems quite taken with you and I'd like for you to call me if you need anything, day or night." With that she quickly wrote down a number on a scrap of paper from her purse and gave it to me.

For the second time I was speechless. She wanted to what? Clearly she did not understand that Mrs. Stanley was not being malicious, not really. She was being honest. I was a monster and I couldn't let Esme think otherwise and then be broken hearted when she really found out. She was too good for that. _I'll just throw it away, she wont ever know._

"Uh, sure, I guess. Thank you for the ride." I took the paper from her and quickly jumped from the car, retrived my food and tried to put as much distance between us as possible. As I got in the door, I discreetly watched through the curtains of the window as Esme pulled out a cell phone and began talking on it before driving off. She looked sad at that moment, and I felt terrible for deceiving her but it was so much better this way. I sighed, and looked at the clock. I needed to get on my chores and dinner if I wanted to live through the night.

I had learned the hard way to never, ever be late making dinner for Charlie.


	6. The Scent

**A/N: This chapter is dedicated to ****favludo for getting me to write again. Thanks for your review! And thanks to everyone for all of your reviews!**

Edward POV

I lay on my leather couch listening to the tinkling sounds of Bach as I thought of my family. Carlisle started his first day of work at the hospital here in Forks. He was truly excited this morning to go to a new place of employment and meet the town. One thing we all admired in Carlisle was his unending compassion for the humans around us. I had been helping Esme with some decorating around the house, just enjoying each other's company, when he called and asked her to give one of his patients a ride home. I thought it was odd that he would call and request this. Did they have no family on which to depend?

From a medical standpoint, I understood that it was not safe for the child to drive home herself, but I worried that it would bring unnecessary attention to our family. As I listened to more of the call, I could understand his point of view. People _did_ need to see us buying groceries and interacting with humans. It made them less suspicious. And if Carlisle's guess regarding her wellbeing was correct, then Esme was the perfect person to accompany her. She was a true loving mother and people really couldn't help but love her. I trusted his assessment of the situation. Possible abuse from a loved one, malnourishment, probably alone and had few people or no one to trust. I was sure Carlisle would want me to listen to her thoughts to see if his hypothesis was correct. Alice and I had helped him with a few similar cases in the past. Rosalie even helped in cases that she empathized with, but not without complaint. He thought he could save everyone, and Rosalie was always first to voice how dangerous exposure was, as if we did not already know.

Rosalie was much more agreeable to live with since she found Emmett.

Alice and Jasper had hunted the night before in preparation of a trip to Port Angeles this morning, even though we had all hunted just 2 days ago. Since we had moved from living with the Denali's in Alaska, we were on 'summer break', and hadn't had as much human interaction lately. Jasper being the most sensitive to blood considering his past and empathic abilities had to be the most diligent in hunting. He had said it was best to be prepared when entering new enemy territory. I rolled my eyes; always the soldier. Alice had been very preoccupied with watching how Jasper would fare in Port Angeles trying to desensitize himself to the scent of blood, so I doubted that she would have seen this, or she would have wanted to pick up the child herself.

Just as the CD was coming to an end on my iPod, I heard the familiar mental voice of my mother coming closer to the house. A few seconds later, the crunch of the car on the gravel, and then her mental request.

_Help your mother with the groceries, son?_

I could not help but chuckle at her request. Even out here in the middle of no where, she would want to be keeping with appearances. By herself, Esme could have unloaded and put away everything she had purchased in a matter of a minute or too. But, I could deny her nothing, so I walked at human pace to help her. She smiled when she heard me coming and thanked me in her thoughts, but once I made it near the car, everything changed.

The scent hit me like a lightening bolt. In less then a eighth of a second, I had gone from a boy just helping his mother with a menial task to my true nature as a vampire. All thoughts of who I was, who I tried to be, fled my mind as the scent left me hazy, mad with hunger and venom pooling in my mouth. It did not matter that I had just hunted, or that this scent very probably belonged to the child Carlisle was trying to help. I crouched down and barely noticed the deep growl forming in my chest. I stalked toward the car and ripped the passenger seat door off the car to open it. She was no longer in the car, and a small part of my brain registered this, but I could not help but stand there and breath the lake of fire that was sitting in the air. One thought echoed through my mind as I stood there.

I needed to find her.

Before I could jet off, I finally heard Esme, or registered hearing her. She was speaking to me now, but as I looked at her, I could not fully grasp what she was saying. The scent had scrambled my brain so thoroughly that my heightened abilities meant nothing. I saw the confusion and worry in her face, her brow furrowed, her hand outstretched in concern and suddenly, I realized what I was about to do. I was horrified, shocked, disgusted, with myself even as the monster in me still wanted it. I could not go back, I had vowed to give up human blood along with the rest of my family and I would not break it again. I immediately stopped breathing and while it helped, I could remember the scent, feel it on my tongue. I slowly began collecting myself and one step at a time went back to the house and waited for her to come to me. I sucked in the untainted air of the living room with a mixture of joy and frustration. I was finally able to think with a clear head, but the monster still wanted to hunt, to kill, to drink. As I sat on the couch with my head in my hands gasping in air, I heard Esme come up behind me.

"Edward? What happened? Talk to me, please."

I was torn on whether to tell her. I was ashamed of my reaction and did not want her to worry about my control, but on the other hand, _I _was worried about my control, and I may need help. But Esme could not help me at this moment. She was saturated in the scent, as though she bathed in the girl's blood. I swallowed another mouthful of venom and was barely able to get out an explanation before fleeing our house.

"The scent, her blood, it's too much."

And with that, I was running. Through the forest, away from our house, from the town, from my family, but most importantly, from the girl and her scent.

It took hours and the draining a family of deer, but I had come to a decision. I would leave. Carlisle was trying to save her from abuse, and I could _not_ be anywhere near her without wanting to succumb to my nature. The monster was still rattling his cage and begging to find the girl. I had denied him for so long, I thought I'd mastered his lures, but in the matter of seconds he had clawed his way to the surface, and I nearly hunted an innocent. Surely Alice's visions would be sufficient to help the girl; they did not need me in this endeavor. I would go back to tell them and then leave. Maybe spend more time with the Denali's or just be on my own for a while. It did not matter, I could not stay. Esme would be sad, and beg me to stay, but I knew that I would not be strong enough. Carlisle would be sad as well, but would understand my decision and see its necessity.

I was so ashamed, I almost left without seeing them again, but I knew I had to go back and explain myself. I sighed in frustration, and jumped out of the tree I was sitting in to being my trek back home to face my family.

A/N: Again thank you for your reviews! And as always, I hope you like it!


	7. The Conflict

Edward

When I arrived at the house, my resolve faltered.

The whole family was now home and their thoughts were buzzing with concern for me and for the safety of Carlisle's pet project. Well, most of them anyway.

_I hope he doesn't change his mind about coming home, I'm so worried about him._

Esme always thought the best of me, even if it was misplaced. If I were not so selfish I would have stayed away from Forks, and not bothered with coming back.

_That idiot is putting us all at risk. If he does something reckless we could all be implicated. _Rosalie's reaction was predictable. She was always concerned about exposure, because she knew it could take her away from Emmett if the Volturi found out. We all knew the risks, yet she was no less volatile about it.

_Maybe we can scope out her house and keep her away from Edward without separating the family. I wonder if he could even handle direct contact with the girl but it seems doubtful. _I appreciated Japser's attempt at keeping me with the family. Despite how much he tried to hide it, I heard his happiness at not being the weakest link, and the shame in feeling that. After all this time of disciplining Jasper's thirst, it was strange to think that I would fill that spot.

_Esme's recounting of his reaction could mean that this girl is his singer, but I had thought that a myth. _Carlisle was my main concern.As the head of the family, I would do as he saw best, even if that meant leaving as I had already tried to do.

_Rose is so pissed at Eddie. I hope that doesn't affect our plans for later… _Based on Rosalie current track of though, Emmett will likely be disappointed.

Alice was currently singing nursery rhyme's in Bosnian to hide her thoughts from me. Which meant she had seen something that she intended on playing as a wild card.

The house was filled with the smell of bleach. Esme had cleaned everything so that when I did return, I would not be tempted. She had burned her clothes. The car was already in the garage ready to be repaired by Rosalie. I shook my head in disgust for myself, luckly my reaction was contained to our property. They sat waiting for me in the rarely used dinning room, Rose and Emmett on one side, Jasper and Alice on another and Esme sitting beside Carlisle at the head. His hands were folded and his mind held nothing I could decipher. He wanted me to speak first. I looked at each of my family members in turn, reading their reactions.

"I have to leave. Her scent is too much for me and I am afraid for her safety and for the safety of our family. I only came to say goodbye."

Rosalie was quietly satisfied with my answer, but only smiled and said nothing. Emmett was far more boisterous and booming.

"Awww C'mon Man! You can't leave! I bet you're just over reacting, it cant be that bad! Who is going to tell me what Rose is thinking when she's mad?" Emmett cringed away from Rosalie's heated stare.

Jasper, who could feel my mixed emotions of sadness, disgust and desire, knew the gravity of the situation. He tried desperately to avoid times like this. "If Edward says that it is too much for him, then we should not pressure him with staying."

Alice kept her eyes closed. I stared at her until she opened them. "I love you Eddie!" was all she said before going back to the nursery rhymes, this time in Scandinavian. I wanted to know what she had seen, but I needed to know Carlisle decision first.

I turned to him and Esme. _Stay_. It was her only thought as she watched me. Carlisle waited a moment before speaking. "I can understand that this is hard for you my son, please do whatever you think is necessary to protect Isabella and know that we will miss you."

I would have nodded, agreed and left but the moment that the girl's name was spoken, Alice slipped for just a fraction of a second and what I saw rooted me to the ground.

It was a girl. A girl I had never seen before, but I knew it was The Girl. Isabella. She stood beside me looking up at my face, expressionless. Her eyes were blood red and her skin was porcelain and cold. She was a vampire. I could do nothing but stare at Alice in disbelief. How could that ever be possible?

Alice, abandoned her nursery rhymes and shook her head. "You cannot leave Edward. If you leave, she will end up killing herself. I cannot yet see the path of events that lead her to this, but it is always the same when you leave. If you stay she has…options."

Her voice was enough to bring me back to reality from the horrific image. "Options! You call that options? We might as well kill her now then submit her to that!"

Everyone at the table stared at me as I glared at Alice. Carlisle motioned for her to explain what she has seen. "Every time I see Edward leaving, Isabella always ends up killing herself, mainly via firearm. If Edward decides to stay, then I see her either alive in a mental institution or a vampire." Now everyone stared at her.

"Well, this…complicates things. I hope in light of this new development, you will consider staying Edward. I cannot let Isabella die. Not so young and abused as she is. " Carlisle was attempting to be delicate with the situation. Despite my appreciation, despair eclipsed all else.

I would stay.

Thanks for Reading! Sorry I took so long to update….


	8. The Night

Sure enough, despite Esme's attempt to prevent Mrs. Stanley's call to my father, he knew. I could tell as soon as he walked in the door, home from work as the sun just began setting in the distance. He sauntered into the kitchen and watched me wash dishes for a moment before speaking.

"Did you do anything _fun_ today, Isabella?" I could hear the threat in his voice, the eerie emphasis he placed on the word _fun_ and fear paralyzed my throat and body. I said nothing. _Stupid stupid stupid girl, _I thought. He slowly walked up behind me, standing too close.

"Answer me, Isabella." I hated it when he said my name, and he _always_ said my name when addressing me, as if there were another person in the house to confuse me with. I was torn from my thoughts as he painfully grabbed my neck and yanked me to down to the floor. "ANSWER ME," he yelled as spittle sprayed from his lips.

"N-n-no father. I just did the shopping for dinner and went to the doctor like you said." I trembled on the floor, looking everywhere but at him. I saw bread crumbs under the fridge. I really had to clean that up before he noticed.

He laughed. Not like funny haha. No, it was his all-too-familiar, cold hearted, sweat inducing, menacing, creepy laugh. I peeked at him and saw his lips peeled back to show all his white teeth. I thought he might start snarling, like an animal. I braced myself for whatever would come next, because I knew it was coming.

"No Isabella, you did not do as I said. I heard from Mrs. Stanley that you were harassing the new family in Forks and you _know_ that you aren't supposed to talk to strangers. We wouldn't want you going off the deep end." Another bone chilling laugh, this one cut off abruptly. "So get my belt. The broken one." The broken one. The _broken_ one. It was the worst of his belts. The belt was old and while not really broken, it had been mangled a long time ago when Charlie was using some power tool. It left the metal of the buckle gouged and sharp in places, ready to tear my skin one little bit at a time. Charlie's steel toe boot in my side told me I had hesitated too long. I knew from experience that further disobedience was unwise, so I quickly jumped to my feet and ran up to his room to fill his request.

Returning to my father, I handed him the belt and resumed my position on the floor, pulling up my thin shirt. He began immediately and while I knew he expected no noise, I usually could not comply which always resulted in a few extra licks. The pain of each strike was agonizing over my boney back and I found myself whimpering with every one. I could feel the blood dripping down, and soon I could see it on the floor, falling in small droplets. It was funny almost, how I used to be faint at the sight of blood, but I had plenty of exposure to numb me from it.

Satisfied with my punishment, he went to wash up for dinner, leaving me to my bloody mess. I quickly wiped up what I could on the floor, and decided that I would have to bleach it out of the grout later. Putting my shirt back on stung until I could ignore the pain enough to dish out Charlie's plate and retreat upstairs to my room. I waited for him to finish and begin his zone out with sports, my only real time of peace, taking a brief shower to get the blood off. I had little hope of putting any medicine on it since I couldn't reach most of it, but I thought I would try.

_Yeah, I'll want to prevent scarring incase I begin sunbathing, or start modeling. Right._

It was ridiculous.

It was quickly getting dark outside but I could navigate to my hidden first aid stash with my eyes closed. Quietly sneaking out the back door, I ran to the edge of the woods and counted 23 strides before stopping next to a tree with a hollow base. Inside I could see my hidden green box of goods. Gauze pads, antiseptic, antibiotics, aloe, and band-aids. Much of what I had was stolen from the hospital on one of my many trips. I gritted my teeth as I wiped the antiseptic on my wounds. It was agony all over again. I cleaned what I could, which wasn't much, and put everything away before sneaking back in the house. ESPN had Charlie's undivided attention. He would be furious if he knew that I was trying to heal his work.

I sat in my room thinking about the coming days. Since it was the last Friday before school started, I started cataloguing all my supplies that I had rationed from last year, and made note of what I would need to regrettably buy. Charlie required justification for everything I purchased. He hated spending money on me since I was essentially a waste of space. _"What do you need an education for? You won't amount to anything!" _ How true he was. They sat in a stack on my desk next to a shelf that held the only books I owned; the bible (which I really found to be a very long and boring piece of fiction), dictionaries, and a worn copy of a 1995 farmers almanac. Any books that I checked out of the library were hidden from Charlie.

All too soon I could hear Charlie clomping up the stairs. My alarm read 9:30pm. He locked my bedroom door as was customary before retiring to his room, and I signed in relief. Saturday was my favorite day of the week because Charlie always went fishing with his buddies in the La Push reservation, and I would have the day to myself. I spent most of the time cleaning as required by Charlie, but I always managed to get in recreational time for reading, drawing, or just sitting outside.

As soon as Charlie began snoring I felt dread come over me, realizing that soon I would have to go to sleep, and have the dream yet again. I tried to postpone it as long as possible by pacing, opening my window and taking in the night breeze rustling through the trees. I looked up into the cloudless night with a full moon bright against the dark sky dotted with stars. It was a beautiful night; a night that one might go to a movie with friends, or snuggle up with a loved one. Tears welled up in my eyes and began to fall as I thought of how alone I was. How I missed my mother even when I never knew her. I thought of the lone picture of her on the mantle downstairs, and how beautiful she looked with her bright smile, wishing I could have had that maternal bond, and wondering how my life could have turned out differently.

"Why did you have to leave me with him?" I wispered into the night air. The trees creaked with indifference at my plea.

"He is going to kill me any day now. I know it. His punishments are getting worse, and I'm getting weaker. I don't want to live anymore, if it means living in this hell. Save me, please." A dog barked in the distance. Nothing. Crickets singing in the bushes. Nothing. Wind blowing again. Nothing.

I sighed, defeated. I was nothing and deserved nothing and got nothing.

It was time for the dream.

I was running, my life depended on escape. I willed my legs to go faster then they could.

But I knew they wouldn't.

The dream was always the same.

I was being chased, but I couldn't see my stalker through the tall trees of my home. I fell over every small rock and stray branch in the woods losing any ground I could have hoped to gain. The moss was slippery under my hands and my feet could find no purchase. The silhouetted man following was walking at a leisurely pace but was somehow able to gain a shocking amount of ground. Within minutes I knew he would be on me.

His maniacal laughter rang through the air, assaulting my ears. "Isabella…." His voice was rough like sandpaper, but teasing, like it always was. I put my hands over my ears and hid behind a dead tree that had fallen on the ground. I could sympathize.

"Isabella, don't hide, you know I love to see you." He made it sound like a pout, as though he actually meant it. I knew he didn't.

I cowered further into the tree wishing that I could run but it was futile. Fear penetrated every single one of my senses, freezing me in place as I watched a hand creep around the top of the tree. But it wasn't his hand. It was smaller, more pale, and feminine. No. It couldn't be. Esme grabbed me and shielded my body with her own. With her arms wrapped around me she looked in my eyes and smiled. I tried to wriggle out of her iron grasp to no avail. I couldn't let another innocent die because of me, someone else's mother. I screamed in her face to run, begged and pleaded. She just smiled, nothing but warmth and love in her eyes.

The familiar gunshot rang out and I instinctively flinched. But I felt no pain. I was abruptly released from the iron grasp and stumbled back a few steps. I stood there, looking at beautiful Esme standing before me, still smiling and with her arms held wide as if expecting a hug, but now in the center of her chest blood began to seep through her shirt. It poured to the ground and soaked her clothing. She still smiled even as she fell to her knees, arms outstretched to me. I could not help but go to her side. I held her as she smoothed my hair back, dying here in the forest of my mind. "I'm…sorry Esme, I'm so sorry. I…I tried. I tried to warn you." Tears began to fall as I held her small form. I couldn't believe this had happened. The first person in years to show me any kindness was now dead. Because of me. My head fell to her shoulder, uncontrollable sobs seizing my body. I held her tighter, wishing the gunshot would move from her to me. She continued to smooth my hair, and I recognized the song as the one that had played in the car by Debussy. Soon all movement from Esme stopped and when I pulled my head back from her shoulder and looked at her face, it seemed as though she could have been sleeping. She was peaceful looking.

In a panic I suddenly realized that my father was still around with a loaded gun with his intended target still breathing. I whipped my head around all sides of Esme and I only to find that he was….gone. I did not hear his voice, his footsteps, the cocking of the gun, nothing. I was alone with Esme. I laid down next to her, and silently cried. I thought of Dr. Cullen who would never see his wife again, and would surely despise me. I thought of her children who would be with out their mother. I closed my eyes thinking of all the enemies I had made. Why was I even alive? I had often wondered this, and usually did not come up with a worthwhile answer. 'To clean Charlies house' didn't seem like a reason for my being. I had begun thinking of suicide more lately, just to escape him. I could lay in the warm bath and go out of this world the same way I entered it; in blood.

I awoke the next morning to another sunny day, and this time, I did not scorn it. I felt strangely peaceful, despite my horrific dream. I laid in bed for some time thinking of the dream and contemplating Esme's appearance and then death. What did it mean?

It was far past Charlie's departure so I was alone in the house. I was surprised that I did not wake him up from my dream and that I did not wake up from the unlocking of my door. As I stared at the ceiling, the suns rays lighting my whole room. I felt more rested then I have in a while and though there was pain, some old and familiar, some new and on fire, I almost felt…good.

My solo Saturday might not be so bad.


	9. The Watch

**A/N: I noticed some tense, spelling and grammatical errors in the last chapter after I posted. I apologize. I don't have a beta, and I was having my fiancé proofread my work but he is coming up on his last semester in his bachelor's degree and needless to say, fanfiction isn't that high on his list of priorities. Lol. Little does he know that it is the embodiment of all that is awesome in this world. But I digress.**

**The Twilight Saga & characters is owned by S. Meyer. **

**Edward**

I had decided to stay.

But I wasn't sure, nor was my family, what this meant. Would I go to school on Monday? Would I stay home? Would I fake a home bound illness? Convert to preist hood? Did it matter?

Alice was little help. Her visions were more confusing than clear, mostly shadows and hazy images, and eventually she became fed up with my badgering and left to hunt. Ever the tactician, Jasper suggested that I scope out the gir- _Isabella's_ – home and then skipped out after his mate with a shrug of his shoulders. His plan had merit. I could stay a safe distance away from the house but still be able to hear what she thought and to hopefully confirm Carlisle's suspicions. Carlisle thought this was an acceptable compromise. While I was still worried about being so near her, it was far better than actually trying to be in the same building as her, or even worse, the possibility of being in the same classroom. I had reacted violently to her second hand scent left in the car and on Esme. I might not be able to restrain myself if I got close.

Which is how I found myself perched in a tree 103 feet from her house. It was the perfect distance, or would have been. It sat far enough away that I could not smell her except when the wind teasingly carried her scent to me. Faint traces of her would surround me in those moments as the gust seemed to whisper her name in my ear. _Isabella…._ Its innocent caress was agony. My agony was further heightened with her silent thoughts. Though I should have been able to hear each one of her thoughts as though she sat and spoke them in my ear, I heard nothing. Her foot steps, her sighs, and the rustling of her clothing were my only companions, frustrating as they were. What did she think as she sighed? What did she look at as she walked around her home? I could only guess.

Charlie was…another animal altogether. Aside from his vague mental impressions, which were intriguing in itself, I noticed nothing out of the ordinary while he watched the Mariners game. When the game ended, things became….strange. I mentally followed him as he walked around downstairs, briefly snacking out of the fridge. His vague impressions turned into skittering thoughts and the patterns mimicked the behavior of a spider; primal, deadly. Stationary. Skitter. Stationary. Skitter.

_Leftover pizza..…Fish tomorrow…..stupid girl yelling…new tires…..Billy's hat….._

Each thought was punctuated with a haunting, eerie silence unlike the normal flow of a human. He was insane. I had occasional contact with mental patients over the years. Chance run-ins on the street and observation during my medical education led me to believe that Charlie may have been suffering from some sort of psychological disorder due brought on by extreme trauma. Maybe something to do with his lack of spouse or from his past on the police force. Even as a vampire, his thought's made me uneasy and after hearing him, I was confident that this man was the source of Isabella's pain. He made his way upstairs, boots thumping loudly on the creaking steps, and I heard him stop, the distinct noise of a lock turning, and then he resumed walking until he eventually retired for the night. All the while his thoughts continued its pattern of emotionless stop and go. It was unnerving.

I heard no moment from Isabella as soon as her father hit the stairs. There was only a sharp intake of breath accompanying the lock sound, and after he departed, I heard only her breathing for a long while. It quickened along with her heart rate as her father began to snore for some unknown reason. Was she okay? Was it asthma? Panic? Without her thoughts to guide me, I was at a loss. Suddenly she stood and I could see her briefly framed in her window as she paced back and forth in her room. She stopped before the window, opened it, knelt down and looked out at the world, eyes on the stars.

In that moment, I would have given anything to know her thoughts. The need burned in my soul. I was captivated.

Her silhouette was haloed by the light of her room and her skin shone pearl white in the moon's luminescence. Her dark eyes were bright but sad. She looked hauntingly like Alice's vision of her as vampire, except for the beating reminder that was so conveniently bared to me due to the tilt of her head. The monster within me growled in his cage, but he was tightly locked away. As I watched, her face suddenly contorted and tears began to fall. I willed her to open her mind to me so I could help. And then as though God himself was listening to my silent pleas, she spoke.

"Why did you have to leave me with him?"

Who left? Did she speak of her father? My curiosity burned alongside my desire for her blood. Her voice shook, and the tears flowed freely. I had seen numerous humans cry over the years, but none effected me as this one did. I felt as though my own dead heart was breaking, and I had to fight the urge to run to her and dry her tears. Never mind that she would run screaming in fear if she knew what I was or that my ice cold hands would disgust and repulse her. I was in shock at the whirlpool of emotions I was currently feeling. Why was this happening?

Never in my ninety years as a vampire had I felt more human than in that moment. I was in awe of this frail creature's ability to captivate me so completely.

"He is going to end me any day now. I know it. His punishments are getting worse, and I'm getting weaker. I don't want to live anymore, if it means living in this hell. Save me, please."

I was certain this time that she spoke of her father. The anger built inside me, eclipsing my desire for her blood. My only thoughts were of violence. Now instead of running to comfort, I resisted the urge to tear her father to shreds. Under my anger I was again shocked by my reaction. Perhaps it was some long buried protective instinct; the strong for the weak, or Carlisle's compassion finally rubbing off. How could one sworn to protect hurt such a fragile creature, his own flesh and blood no less? I found this explanation of my behavior lacking as I had never before felt this way toward any of my fathers' pet projects. They were just humans in need of a savior.

I contemplated my reactions while monitoring Isabella. She left the window shortly after speaking and went to bed. She slept poorly, tossing and turning. Much to my delight she spoke in her sleep, several times she spoke Esme's name, yet I could tell she was in distress. Her moans became louder until suddenly they stopped. My curiosity overrode all thought and I threw caution to the wind. I held my breath as I dropped from my perch only to be hanging from Isabella's window a fraction of a second later. As I looked into her bedroom, I immediately wish I hadn't.

She lay in a ball on a mattress in the corner of the room with a tattered sheet as her only covering. Blood stained the mattress in several areas and on the floor as well. Her room was otherwise sparsely furnished with only a small table serving as a desk or catch-all and a shelf on the wall with few books. Bringing my attention back to the girl I could see that whatever dream she was having took a toll on her physically. She looked terrible and wonderful all at the same time. It was obvious she was severely malnourished and not at all properly cared for. I could see many scars on her exposed skin from whatever past horrors. Despite her haggard appearance, she really was quite beautiful and classic timeless beauty like hers was rare. I wanted to badly to enter her room, but I was not ready. One forgetful breath and I would end Isabella.

As I watched her through the window I promised this girl the only thing in my power. I would help in any way to make her feel safe again. I would protect her from her father, from her death and from Alice's vision of undeath.


	10. The Stunt

Bella

I laid in bed staring at the stain on the ceiling. I am, yet again, prolonging the inevitable.

Today is the first day of my sophomore year at Fork's high.

Yay.

Not.

Really school wasn't that bad. It was my relative safe haven from the horrors of Charlie and the memories of the house. The teachers kept out of my business, generally believing the fabricated story of my 'insanity' but being distantly kind. It was the students that made it bad, from the moment I first stepped foot into kindergarten Jessica Stanley and Lauren Mallory made sure everyone and their mother (and father, and siblings, for that matter) knew I was a whack job. Even the people who were nice to me, trying to befriend me, I eventually had to push away for their own safety, and mine. I learned the hard way that Charlie forbids any sort of relationship.

Speak of the Devil, and he shall appear.

I rolled defensively on my side as I heard Charlie unlock and open the door. My alarm clock read 6:26, so I knew Mr. Perfect Attendance would be leaving soon, but that didn't stop me from fearing the worst.

"Lasagna," he said before shutting the door, and leaving the house.

Now, to any other person who might have watched that exchange Charlie would be the insane one. But I knew. Lasagna for dinner or else, and make sure I make enough for leftovers. I'd have to go to the store after school and somehow prepare a 2 hour dish in 1.5 hours. Time management engage. Fuck My Life.

I hurried to get ready in my very stylish grey shirt, ratty jeans, hand me down shoes, and my mothers sweatshirt. I took my time eating my cereal, glad to be able to have 2 meals a day instead of the customary dinner only meal during breaks and on weekends. Cheerios never tasted so good. And hey, apparently I'm helping to lower my cholesterol.

As if that was my main health concern.

I walked out of the house only to find that the weather decided overcast just wasn't good enough and that rain was much better. Pulling up my hood, I trudged to my car, grateful that it wasn't iced over. I was sure I would bust my ass on that. After getting in my truck however, any gratefulness I had dissipated as I tried to turn the engine over.

It wouldn't start.

"Shit! No, no, no! Baby please don't do this to me!" I pleaded with my truck.

After a few futile minutes of trying to start my normally trustworthy vehicle, I got out to walk to school.

In the rain, sans raincoat.

Yay.

Not.

As I walked, realization led to dread. I wouldn't be late to school, not that it was a big deal, but I realized that there was no way I would be able to get the Lasagna done in time, even if I didn't have to go to the store, which I did. When Charlie specifically asked for something for dinner, I had to make it. Substitutions not allowed. Now my walk to school felt like a death march. I considered skipping altogether, but I really can't afford to miss days when so often I _had_ to miss days.

I was abruptly brought out of my musings a few blocks away from school when a tidal wave of water suddenly hit me from the side. I was beyond drenched. As I looked toward the road I could see Lauren and Jessica some distance away laughing it up in Laurens car as they drove to school. This wasn't the first time I had a car spray gutter water on me, but it had certainly been a while. To make matters worse, Lauren was immediately followed by a silver car with dark tinted windows. One that I immediately recognized as the car I rode in with Esme Cullen.

Great.

If they didn't know I was a social outcast before, I'm sure this removed all doubt. Not that I was holding out hope for friendship or anything. I'm not delusional. Well, according to the stories I was, but you know. By the time I got to school I was a soggy, dirty, walking mess, despite that the rain had now stopped altogehter. This caused people to pay far more attention to me than they normally would. Most people just stared at me, but others had choice words for me.

"Looks like the ugly duckling went for a swim!" Tyler Crowley always had a way with words. He was a literary genius. If by genius, I mean moron. He helped me up from a fall I took in 1st grade and took me to the nurse for my scrapes. He was kind once.

"Don't you ever shower at home Swan?" Jessica Stanley always made sure to say something about my supposed general lack of hygiene. I tried to stay clean, but circumstances made it difficult.

My face heated as my humiliation rose. I tried to ignore the stares and jeers as I walked up the school steps, but I was never that lucky. I didn't have time to register the foot of Mike Newton as it shot out in front of my legs. I was falling face first into the concrete steps with nothing but my arms to brace myself before I realized what had happened. I closed my eyes waiting for impact.

It never came.

Instead I was suddenly braced in mid are by a pair of large, hard arms.

It felt like forever that I was frozen in the strange 45 degree angle position I was being held in with my eyes closed and my arms flung out, but I'm sure it was only a few seconds before the arms slowly put me back on my feet.

I opened my eyes and once again my mouth fell agape at another of the Cullen Family. He was gigantic. And beautiful. Not just really tall but also really wide and incredibly muscular. He could have been a line backer for a football team, and no one would get past him. He had dark hair, chiseled features, and the same oddly beautiful golden eyes as the doctor. He watched me with a huge grin on his face complete with dimples. I thought he might be Paul Bunyon reincarnated, but as a model.

"Hey Squirt! Fallin' for me on my first day huh?

His voice was loud and booming, but fitting for his stature. I continued to stare at him for a moment before regaining the thought necessary to close my mouth. He stuck his gloved hand out to me, so I stared at that. It was probably the size of my head.

"I'm Emmett Cullen, my family and I are new to town. What's your name, Squirt?"

I put my tiny hand into his gigantic one and shook it briefly.

"Uhm, Isabella Swan. Thanks for your um…. help, but I should to go."

Quick escape was the best option before someone clued him in, but before I could walk two steps, a hand grasped my forearm. I turned and again looked into the eyes of Emmett, once playful, now serious.

"Isabella, you let me know if anyone bothers you again. I'll take care of it."

His menacing tone was heard by every student in the area. Mike, now standing behind Emmett with his friends, visibly blanched. I wanted to laugh at the absurdity of the situation, but instead, I fled.

"Uh, ok."

I was released from his grasp and jogged up the steps to the school. I quickly went to the bathroom to try and salvage my appearance. Looking in the mirror, I felt that I resembled a zombie, or the classic drowned rat. Sunken cheeks, stringy hair, wet all over. I was trying to squeeze dry my hair when someone else came into the bathroom. Before I could even consider hiding in a stall, the girl was in front of me. I knew immediately it was another Cullen. Short, spiky, brunette hair matched her tiny stature and highlighted her beautiful, pale complexion. He eyes were also golden and she too had a wide smile with perfectly straight, blindingly white teeth. Talk about a lucky gene pool.

"Hi Bella! I'm Alice and I'm sorry about what those girls did to you this morning. What a bunch of bitches! Lucky for you, I brought some gym clothes that were non issue, its tragic that us kids are forced to wear matching shirts and shorts. Don't you think so? Its so unfashionable! Anyway, why don't you wear them today so you can get out of your wet things?"

I'm pretty sure that was the fastest I have ever heard anyone talk.

Now I was staring at her not because she was beautiful and perfect, but because she was holding a stack of neatly folded clothes in her hand extended toward me. There was no freaking way.

"Um, thanks but really I'm fine. I'll dry soon enough."

Her smile never faded, and her hand didn't move. She giggled at me.

What. The. Hell.

"Oh you silly girl! I know I'm new to this school, but if there is one thing you need to know about me it's that I always get my way! I'm not letting you leave this bathroom until you change! Now get your butt in there!"

She actually pushed me into a stall with surprising strength. It was horrifying and hilarious at the same time and I found my mouth trying to smile at the ridiculousness of it all. I decided that she was probably right, and it would be nice to get into a clean dry set of clothing, but I was still wary of her motives. I put my backpack on the hook of the stall and began peeling off my wet clothing. Alice unexpectedly grabbed each piece as I threw it over the door. I heard the hand dryer come on. She was actually going to try and dry my clothes with the hand dryer? I must have been knocked unconscious from falling on the steps and I'm hallucinating the wonderful Cullen family.

The clothing she gave me was so soft and comfortable. And it was impossible that it was hers. She was easily several sizes smaller than I, and a few inches shorter, but the clothing fit me really well. The pants and sweatshirt she gave me were a beautiful navy blue. The shirt was plain white, but it was cut so flattering and it all smelled like honey and …sunshine? Weird but wonderful. She had even given me a dry set of plain white bra and panties that I almost didn't put on, but as soon as I decided to continue wearing my own, Alice shouted over the stalls.

"You better put on everything!"

Alright already, I thought. I laughed out loud at that. Alice was….a force to be reckoned with, and while I was still unsure of her kindness and motives, I found that I kind of liked her. I was dressed in no time and emerging from the stalls she handed me a pair of socks and shoes to replace my wet ones. The socks were plush and the shoes looked expensive, but I was so grateful of her gesture. That I almost didn't think twice about wearing them. Almost.

Alice had somehow managed to almost completely dry my clothes and she had them in a neatly folded stack on one of the sinks. I was amazed at her resourcefulness. I stuffed my clothes into my backback.

"We have three and a half minutes to get to our first class which we have together! Come on Bel-la!"

In her sing song voice, Alice laced her arm through mine and led me to my first period pre calculus class, which apparently, Alice shared with me. I smiled at her familial shortening of my name, as if we were long time friends instead of acquaintance's of five minutes. I had always liked the name Bella was too afraid to insist that others use it.

Everyone still in the halls stared at us as we went by. I was sure it was a combination seeing me in nice, clean, new clothes, my arm entwined with the chatty, bubble of energy that was Alice, and maybe even it was my small smile. It was probably mainly my proximity to Alice.

Even when she found out the supposed 'truth' about me, and she would, I would remember her acts of kindness with fondness.


	11. The Look

**A/N: This chapter is dedicated to all those who are still reading this story. I know I don't update regularly, (you know it too). I'm an engineering undergrad and my husband is a law student. We are ridiculously busy and I really do appreciate your patience.**

**The Twilight Saga & characters is owned by S. Meyer.**

**Bella**

I had spent most of the day in the company of Alice. She was in most of my classes, all of which came before lunch. She didn't seem to mind that she did most of the talking with my occasional nod now and again. Were briefly accompanied by her boyfriend Jasper during the last passing period. He bent and whispered in her ear it made her look sort of dazed. I couldn't blame her, he was impossibly handsome just like the rest of them. I thought maybe he had picked up some real dirt on me and was trying to warn her, because right after he spoke to her she gave me an uneasy smile and told me she would meet me later. Right. I knew it was the end of my temporary friendship.

Which is how I found myself sitting alone at my usual table in the cafeteria.

Just like every other day.

I had pulled my legs up against my chest rested my head on my knees so I could watch the rain falling outside and to avoid eye contact from anyone else. For a moment I could almost forget that I was an unwanted social outcast. I closed my eyes to imagine what my life could be like if it were normal….if I were normal.

Then something hit me square in the back of the head and my small bubble of peace was shattered into a million pieces yet again.

The cafeteria immediately erupted with laughter. I turned to see Mike Newton with a smirk on his face standing in the "I just threw something at your head" position and a very smug looking Jessica Stanley right behind him. He would do anything for that bitch. There were a few teachers trying in vain to keep the upheaval at bay, and one even began walking toward me.

All of this suddenly went unnoticed as my eyes slid past the scene in front of me and onto the fifth child of the Cullen family who was now standing just inside the cafeteria doors.

He was beautiful, more so than the others. From his strange colored hair in messy disarray to the designer clothing hugging his perfectly toned pale body. He even had the same piercing golden eyes.

Eyes that were now looking at me with what I could only describe as disgust and anger. And though I had been the recipient of these emotions all my life, this time was different. I felt so…hurt.

"Are you alright Isabella?" Mr. Banner asked as he finally reached me.

Shaken from my reverie, I had nothing intelligible to say to the teacher, so I said nothing. Grabbing my book from the table, I ran to the closest exit and into the rain without bothering to look back.

So much for Alice's gift of dry clothing.

I kept running until I reached the edge of the woods. Despite it being a short distance, I was spent by the time I reached the tree line. My body barely produced enough energy to live much less be active. Under the protection of a large tree and out of sight from my classmates, I closed my eyes and rested. Maybe I would just leave school now and try to get to the store….

"Isabella?"

The beautiful velvet voice that I had never before heard could only belong to one person.

I was so fucked.


	12. The Touch

**The Twilight Saga & characters is owned by S. Meyer.**

**Bella**

"_Isabella?"_

_The beautiful velvet voice that I had never before heard could only belong to one person._

_I was so fucked._

My eyes flew open. I was afraid to turn around, instead standing frozen, hand on a damp tree, still breathing hard from my short run. My mind raced. What was he doing out here? Why, _why_, did he follow me? Was he going to be just as helpful and generally wonderful as Alice and Emmett? But no, that couldn't be it. I saw his face in the cafeteria. He was just another Newton. Although, considering how my stomach fluttered at the sight of him, maybe he was more like Jacob.

_Oh Jacob, I'm so sorry._

That was a memory I had tried hard to suppress.

Reluctantly I turned to face my unwanted companion and drank in his beauty from about 10 feet away. He was just as perfect out in the rain as he was in a cafeteria, and strangely much less out of place. None of the Cullen's seemed to belong in the dismal Podunk down of Forks. They seemed more fit for someplace exotic…like Paris, perhaps. As runway models.

His look had changed from one of anger to what I could only guess was concern.

"Are you alright, Isabella?"

Of course, instead of answering him the first time, I had stood there gawking at him like a mental patient. Classy.

"Uh yeah, I'm fine. Just admiring the scenery…" I gestured toward the trees. My sarcasm knows no bounds.

Edward hadn't moved any closer, which I found odd, but I really wasn't sure why he was out here to begin with. He just stood there staring at me, his face a mix of emotions. I wondered why he ran after a social outcast that he may or may not hate only to act concerned but stay as far away as possible? Maybe I'm not the only weirdo around.

"There are many beautiful things out here."

I wasn't really sure what to say to that since I honestly really hated Forks climate and topography. I just stood there instead.

"You should report that boy for what he did to you."

The absolute insanity of what he said was too much on top of the already Twilight Zone like day Id had and I just couldn't take it anymore. I laughed.

And laughed, and laughed and laughed.

I'd never laughed so hard in my life. I had to brace myself on the tree. Or laughed probably ever in the last 2 years alone. Probably since the last few times I'd seen Jacob.

Thinking of Jacob sobered me up quickly. That and the confused smirk on Edwards face. I wiped an actual tear from my eye as I regained my composure.

"Look, I know you are new here and everything and your family have been very nice to me, but it is in your best interests to make friends with other people. I'm not very good company to keep, anyone can tell you that."

His smirk had transformed into a frown, that eventually became downright anger. His body was rigid and when he spoke it sounded calm, but forced.

"I think I can figure out who to make friends with on my own, if you don't mind."

I could hear the bell ring signaling the end of lunch, and decided that I should probably head home and put some distance between myself and this strange boy. Before I could open my mouth to tell him to get lost in so many words, he spoke again.

"Alice told me that you were in my Biology class after lunch. I'm not really familiar with the building yet so I was wondering if you could show me?" He smiled at me and it was a cutout from a magazine. Perfect teeth, lush lips, and just…blah. I shook my head and looked down in order to respond coherently.

"Listen, I'm not feeling good so I think I'm going to go home." With that, I turned to leave, not bothering with the stuff in my locker.

I barely turned at all when I felt his hand on my arm.

Though there was no skin contact since I had on the jump suit and he was wearing gloves, I was just so shocked that he would come so close as to touch me. Again I stood there with my mouth open. I studied his face, now only an arms length away from me, and he seemed to be struggling with something internally. I started wondering if he was actually going to listen to my advice from a moment ago. He suddenly looked toward the school and then back at me with an even more amazing smile and eyes that looked right into my soul. His voice was quiet and smooth.

"Bella, please take me to class?"

I suddenly forgot why I even needed to go home. Was my dad sick? Was there something else? Why would I ever even think about saying no to this man? The way my shortened name rolled off his lips made my heart beat faster, his voice made my knees weak, and his looks were liable to make me have an old timey fainting spell.

So, of course, I nodded. Because really, who could say no to that?


	13. The Class

After cleaning the mashed potatoes out of my hair best that I could, Edward and I walked in silence to our Biology class.

After he had very formally introduced himself, despite the fact that I, along with everyone in school already knew he who he was, I really didn't know what else to say to him. Honestly, I was still a bit dazed from his stupid perfect smile that he turned on me. All I could manage was a few directional comments. I wanted to continue staring at his beautiful face and body, but mostly kept my eyes on his feet. They would have to suffice.

I sat down alone at my usual table as Edward spoke to the teacher. It was only after he started walking toward me that I realized that my table held the only seat available. Which was great because we were having _such_ a riveting conversation.

Ha.

He sat down next to me and I could feel the tension coming off him. I really had to struggle to avoid looking at him. It was like a current of energy was pulsing between us. A few times I tried to peek at him on the sly only to see that he was leaning as far away from me as possible with a grimace marring his features. Maybe he had finally realized that I was a fucking loser? The thought hurt, more than it usually did. He had barely been here for a day and already my reputation preceded me. I spent most of the class this way. In the last few minutes of class, swearing that this would be the last time, I risked another glance at him.

And he was staring right at me.

His piercing golden eyes were boring into me as if the secret to the universe was nestled in my skull. I couldn't fathom why else he could possibly be staring at me so intently, when just a moment ago he seemed repulsed by my presence. Maybe I still had mashed potatoes in my hair. I couldn't hold his gaze for more than a few seconds so I eventually dropped my head and _really_ tried to concentrated on mitosis or whatever nonsense the teacher was going on about. It was then I remembered why I so badly needed to get to the store. My stomach twisted. Shit, the lasagna. I began planning ways of leaving school and making it to the store in time to get home to cook everything. I started making a mental grocery list when a little slip of paper was scooted toward me.

I was at once both thrilled and scared. I'd never gotten a note before.

Ok not totally true, once I got a note from Jessica Stanley, but I didn't think it counted since it was only a crudely drawn photo of yours truly in a straight jacket with bugs all over my body. At least, that's what I think it was. She's not a particularly stellar artist.

As I opened the note, I hoped that I was not about to have a repeat performance.

_My mother would like to bring you her famous lasagna dish as a thank you for helping her out at the store. Will you be home shortly after school?_

Even his handwriting was beautiful. Mine looked like I was trying to write with a broken hand, which was partially the case, as it had been previously broken. I couldn't believe this family. It was as if they had come to Forks just to save me from the shitty things that had happened in my life. I mean, I hadn't really helped Esme at the store and now she was going 50's housewife on me. Thinking of her made me think of my dream from the other night, and my heart sank. I needed to keep her away from my house, but I also wasn't sure how to say no to this gesture. It's not like I had a ton of practice with rejecting random acts of kindness. I thought about it for a moment and scrawled a message back to him.

_It's not necessary. My father and I have gluten allergies. Tell your mother I said thank you anyway._

I passed it back to Edward and was rewarded with a small chuckle. Whatever that meant. I didn't have much time to contemplate, as Mr. Banner had called on me to answer a question. He was the only teacher who ever called on me. Asshole.

"Isabella, can you tell me what stage of mitosis this slide shows?"

The entire class turned around to look at me. I studied the slide and then looked at Mr. Banner. He knew I wouldn't answer the question. I never do, even though I knew the answer. I just looked down at my book.

"Anaphase."

I whipped my head around to look back at Edward who was glaring at Mr. Banner. He had said it loud and clear but with an edge that made me a little scared. Looking back to Mr. Banner, I saw that he was also unsettled by Edward. The moment in the classroom stretched on until everyone jumped as the bell rang. I quickly began gathering my things to leave, to the store or to class, I hadn't decided. I just had to get away from this distractingly beautiful and weird boy.

"Isabella, wait. I…well…"

I closed my eyes and turned toward him. Maybe if I was not directly looking at him I could form a coherent sentence. I took a deep breath.

"What, Edward?"

Silence stretched on for a moment.

"Nothing."

And then without further pretense, I heard his chair scrap the floor and felt the wind as he walked past me and out the door. He was gone.


End file.
